Brian Jungen's shapeshifting art

Variant I, 2002, Nike athletic footwear, Collection of Michael J. Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa, 
Vancouver, Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery

Brian Jungen is a Canadian Native-Swiss artist well known for creating socially charged art built of “universally recognizable” materials. 

“I like mass-produced materials because they are a reflection of our society in this period of history,” says Jungen. “Most folks have some sort of relationship to them. I tend to use materials that I can source in my immediate environment, and materials that proliferate in western culture. Eventually most of the products we see today will fade out of use and be replaced.”

As Jungen drags from his immediate environment, his art work unapologetically purges his Canadian West Coast Native cultural heritage from western rubble in bright colours, 1:1 scale, and incredibly careful mastery. His art work often shares the boundaries between delight and discomfort, as it feeds the mainstream art word with critiques of everything from stereotypes of Native Americans, the culture of celebrity, the global economy of cheaply-manufactured goods, the tourist economy, and so on.

Jungen has said of his relatives’ reuse of everyday objects that It was a kind of salvaging born out of practical and economic necessity, and it greatly influenced how I see the world as an artist. The re-use of worn, broken and discarded objects is a given for impoverished peoples worldwide and something that artists have employed for a while.

Jungen inverts this process, taking new and useful objects and converting them, by dint of his vision and craft, into objects deprived of any practical value. In his hands garbage bins, football jerseys, plastic lawn chairs and second-hand clothing attain the ultimate uselessness of art. (+)

However, there are those who criticize Jungen saying that he inverts the concept of ready-mades, that such a practice empties his art, making it merely formal. According to Andrea Kirsh, Jungen takes new and useful objects and converts them into objects devoid of any practical value. In his hands garbage bins, football jerseys, plastic lawn chairs and second-hand clothing attain the ultimate uselessness of art. 

But what is the 'practical value' of art? What is the purpose of art?

Interestingly, the criteria used by Kirsch to criticizing Jungen -- the usefulness of art -- is the same that gave origin of the Ready-mades themselves and to the reason I believe the work of Jungen is deemed sustainable, since it is composed mainly of Ready-mades. When Marcel Duchamp introduced us the first Ready-made in history, he confronted the mainstream art world with quite similar questions : what is art? what is the value of art? what is the purpose of art? who defines what is art?

Moreover, Ready-mades don't have to be "found" to be Ready-mades.

Regarding sustainability, for example,it is true that the reuse of "new" objects into art objects is hardly justified as being a sustainable artistic practice as the starting point is supported by the consumption of "pollutant" materials (for example, plastics). On the other hand, though, the final result of Jungen's transformations brilliantly illustrates the importance of the creative process in increasing possibilities of reusing objects in arts, and vice versa, since the "reuse" of objects is undeniably intrinsic to the high level of artistic creation of Jungen's work, regardless the fact they were initially purchased (and not found).

Thus, despite being made from purchased new objects, Jungen's work provides us with excellent example of the wide range of possibilities that the reuse of objects provides to artists and therefore deserves to be included in this research on sustainable art, among other merits.

In addition, how to deny a sustainable nature to the Ready-mades of Brian Jungen based on the fact that they were initially bought, IF the origin of the Ready-mades in 1917 beard the act of "purchasing" as well?

According to Calvin Tomkins (1), the creation of the Fountain by Marcel Duchamp began when, accompanied by artist Joseph Stella and art collector Walter Arensberg, he purchased a standard Bedfordshire model urinal from the J. L. Mott Iron Works, 118 Fifth Avenue. Duchamp brought the urinal to his studio at 33 West 67th Street, reoriented it to a position 90 degrees from its normal position of use, and wrote on it, "R. Mutt 1917", which is an indication of the name of the engineer who designed the urinal that Duchamp bought. In addition, all attempts to verify the practical use of the urinal failed: the urinal does not function. And this makes it even more interesting because the urinal is in fact the perfect "useless art object".


(1) Tomkins, Calvin (1996). Duchamp: A Biography. New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company: 181-186. ISBN 0-8050-5789-7.

Cetology, 2002, plastic chairs, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Purchased with the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance Program and the Vancouver Art Gallery Acquisition Fund, 2003, Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery

Shapeshifter, 2000 (detail), plastic chairs, 144.8 x 152.4 x 660.4 cm (57" x 60" x 260"), Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 2001, photo: siegel_jackie

Brian Jungen's sculpture "Shapeshifter" makes a statement about cultural hybridity and institutional displays of marine life in aquariums and natural history museums. Jungen, who investigates the intersections and fluid boundaries between Aboriginal and Western cultures, asks us to consider the skeleton of a whale, not an anatomically accurate whale, but a composite influenced by the forms of chairs and by actual whale species. With his choice of material - the ubiquitous monoblock plastic chairs found in discount stores around the world - the artist explores the potential for communication inherent in mass-produced objects in the context of a global economy. Many societies are fascinated by whales and have endowed them with special significance. Aboriginal groups consider the whale to be an animal of great spiritual power, while whales in captivity are popular tourist attractions. The title "Shapeshifter" refers to the spiritual process of transformation from human to animal or vice versa. (+)

Shapeshifter, 2000 (detail), plastic chairs, 144.8 x 152.4 x 660.4 cm (57" x 60" x 260")
Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 2001
photo: Linda Chinfen, Brian Jungen Studio

He has been praised by his life-sized whale skeleton built entirely of cheap, plastic, white lawn chairs, named Shapeshifter. There has also been much written about his series Prototypes of New Understanding, which includes contemporary versions of West Coast Native masks built entirely of the parts of disassembled Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes.

Prototype for New Understanding #16, 2004, Nike athletic footwear, human hair, Collection of Joel Wachs, New York, Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery

“Prototype for New Understanding #21,” 2005, Nike Air Jordans, 21-1/2 x 14-1/2 x 13"

“Prototype for New Understanding #23,” 2005, Nike Air Jordans, 21-1/2 x 14-1/2 x 13"

Pushing further his critical perspective on basketball shoes, Brian Jungen has produced a large and eloquent comment on the people at the other far end of the multi-million basketball economic equation. It’s a basketball court – not quite full-sized but big enough to have oomph – and the floor beneath the two nets came from just the sort of sweatshops where some shoes and other basketball gear are made. To be precise, the floor is made entirely of wooden table-tops that were once parts of industrial sewing machines used in sweatshops. The piece is titled Court, which nicely alludes to it as a question of justice, or injustice. (+)

'Court', 2004, gift from the Rennie Collection to the National Gallery of Canada. 224 sweatshop tables, paint, 2 rolling steel warehouse ladders, 2 basketball hoops each with net and backboard, 12' 4" x 28' x 70' 7"

'Court', 2004, gift from the Rennie Collection to the National Gallery of Canada. 224 sweatshop tables, paint, 2 rolling steel warehouse ladders, 2 basketball hoops each with net and backboard, 12' 4" x 28' x 70' 7"

For his exhibition, last year, at the Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York, Jungen had a series of works that combined objects of natural and manufactured form, drawn from a range of influences and references, including: modern furniture, Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, Andy Warhol’s silk screen prints, and traditional Dane-zaa drum making. The series consisted of five iconic Mid-Century Modern chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Verner Panton that have been bound and enveloped in circles cut from commercially farmed, American elk hides. 

My Decoy, 2011, Cone Chairs, elk hide, tarred twine, granite, steel
Installed dimensions: 67 x 34 x 23" / 170.2 x 86.4 x 58.4cm, Unique

Fore Revolver Reverse, 2011, Side Shell Chair, elk hide, tarred twine, granite, steel
Installed Dimensions: 62.5 x 23.5 x 29.75" / 158.8 x 59.7 x 75.6cm. Unique

The corporeal quality of the chairs’ form and function, the skins of the elk, and the communal process of hand sewing the elements together is compounded further by the resulting object – a drum – which inherently implies ceremonial and social contexts, movement and sound (+), which takes us back once again to his West Coast Native cultural background amidst upstream western design. We are not just interconnected, we are also mingled, it seems. 

Walking Heart, 2011, Aluminum Group Chairs, elk hide, tarred twine, granite, steel,
Installed dimensions: 50 x 55 x 24.5" / 127 x 139.7 x 62.2cm. Unique

Walking Heart, 2011, Aluminum Group Chairs, elk hide, tarred twine, granite, steel,
Installed dimensions: 50 x 55 x 24.5" / 127 x 139.7 x 62.2cm. Unique

Furniture Sculpture, 2006, Natuzzi sofas, wood, Photo credit: Tomas Svab, Vancouver 

Jungen’s contribution to 2012 dOCUMENTA (13) - 9 June–16 September 2012 - is a dog park in Karlsaue park (Dog Run). The facility contains sculptures that function both as tunnels and platforms for pets, as well as benches for their owners, and it is steaming controversy. "We must feel in the perception of the world as our four-legged friend and drop our anthropocentric worldview", says Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (CCB) dOCUMENTA-director. Actually, it has already been noticed that Jungen views the world with an anthropological gaze. (+) (++) (+++) (++++)

Brian Jungen, Dog Run, 2012, dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany, 9 June–16 September 2012,
photo by thefuturistics

Brian Jungen, Dog Run, 2012, dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany, 9 June–16 September 2012, photo by Latitudes

“Habitat 04 – Cats Radiant City,” 2004, Exhibition view, Darling Foundry, Quartier Éphémère, Montreal, Canada, 2004, Plywood, carpet, cats, 11’ x 15’ x 28’, Photo: Guy L’Heureux

From September 28, 2012 to January 6, 2013, Jungen will also be part of a survey of diverse artistic responses to the petroleum industry - a main contributor to the economy of his native country - by ten artists living and working around the world . (+)

“Nicotine,” 2007, Carved gallon gasoline jug, 18 x 13-1/2 x 4-1/2”
“White Death Camas,” 2007, Carved gallon gasoline jug, 18 x 13-1/2 x 4-1/2”

In sum, Jungen, with his arresting imagery made of broadly recognizable and even beloved consumer objects – shoes, lawn chairs, golf clubs – subtly draws in a broad swath of the population, including those who don’t otherwise spend a lot of time thinking about art. 

“It’s a very innocent way to put something quite palatable in front of you, but then when you start to scratch the surface there’s a lot more,” says one of his major collectors.

“The Prince,” 2006, Baseball mitts, dress form, 82 x 24 x 19-1/2”

“Wieland,” 2006, Leather gloves, 25 x 25”

“Blanket no. 2,” 2008, Professional sports jerseys, 53 x 51-1/2”

Brian Jungen ‘Carapace’ (2009) industrial waste bins, 11.63' x 26.25' x 21.9', Photo: Mathieu Génon

[Some claim that] Jungen’s work is also deeply-embedded in contemporary art and suspicious of formalism as an ultimate value. Carapace is a structure the size of a large tent, made from green industrial waste bins and resembling the abandoned housing of a huge turtle. From the inside, however, it resembles nothing so much as one of Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses. Isolated Depictions of the Passage of Time(2001) consists of stacks of plastic food trays arranged into a cube; its shape derives from an actual ‘escape pod’ made by a prisoner in 1980, but the number of trays matches the number of incarcerated native Canadians. Like Hans Haacke’s U.S. Isolation Box, Grenada, 1983 it is a pointedly political work and a realistic depiction of an actual structure whose form mocks the shallowness of so many minimalist cubes. (+)

Brian Jungen ‘Carapace’ (2009) industrial waste bins, 11.63' x 26.25' x 21.9'

Crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky), 2008. Steel, new and used suitcases, and wooden rowboat. Approximately 26'2 x 19'8 x 16'4 Photographed while installed at the 2008 Sydney Biennale. Photo courtesy Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver. National Museum of the American Indian 26/7253.

crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky) (detail)
2008. Suspended mobile depicting five animals. Steel, new and used suitcases, and wooden rowboat. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (26/7253). 

Crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky), first shown at the 2008 Biennale of Sydney, suspends five animals—a shark,crocodile, emu, sea eagle, and possum, all formed from the parts of suitcases—from an overturned rowboat. The boat was central to Crux’s creation; Jungen used it to haul supplies back and forth to a workspace in Sydney Harbor, located under the flight path of the Sydney airport. A sophisticated understanding of the movement of stars across the heavens was developed long ago by Indigenous Australians, and each animal in Crux is a figure central to their constellations, making this mobile the skyworld, flipped upside down. 

Crux was acquired by the National Museum of the American Indian in 2009 and is installed in the museum’s atrium. (+)

crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky) (detail)
2008. Suspended mobile depicting five animals. Steel, new and used suitcases, and wooden rowboat. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (26/7253). Photo: Ernest Amoroso, NMAI. © Brian Jungen.

crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky) (detail)
2008. Suspended mobile depicting five animals. Steel, new and used suitcases, and wooden rowboat. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (26/7253). Photo: Ernest Amoroso, NMAI. © Brian Jungen.

crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky) (detail)
2008. Suspended mobile depicting five animals. Steel, new and used suitcases, and wooden rowboat. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (26/7253). 

crux (as seen from those who sleep on the surface of the earth under the night sky) (detail)
2008. Suspended mobile depicting five animals. Steel, new and used suitcases, and wooden rowboat. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (26/7253).